Unused 50 Amp breaker going to old 3 prong dryer plug - swap with NEMA 14-50 outlet?

[TheBertShow]

Getting my '23 Lightning today. Beyond excited, but a little inexperienced in electrical work...

Being a 23 it comes with the Ford Charge Station Pro of course, but with the mobile power cord, I need to have something more efficient than a 120v plug with the mobile power cord until the FCSP arrives.

I have an older 3 prong dryer plug outlet in my garage where the washer/dryer when my house was first built in the 80's. Previous owners added on to the house (with a new electrical panel separate from the original one), and washer/dryer is now in the added-on part of the house. There is a 50 amp breaker in the original panel, and I'm almost certain that the 3 prong outlet is connected to this breaker.

I am going to have an electrician come look at it, but if I'm correct that the 50 amp breaker is connected to the 3 prong outlet, is it a simple swap-out and plug-and-play for a 14-50 outlet?

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[mrau]

Likely the 3 prong outlet does not have a neutral wire running to it. Not really a problem since an EVSE does not use the neutral wire. If the wire and breaker are both rated for 50 amp, then a 6-50 outlet could be easily installed in place of the dryer outlet. The 6-50 is like the 14-50 only it has 3 prongs instead of 4.

Some folks have used a 14-50 on a 3 wire circuit and then label the outlet with "No Neutral Wire". Likely not code but should work fine.

 

[Scrappy]

If your wiring is 6 AWG you may want to consider doing a direct wire to your FCSP. You might even be able to bump up the breaker to 60 amps and charge at 48 amps (20% faster).

 

[Mach Turtle]

Depending on your level of patience, you could consider a 16-20 amp charger that uses the old 3-prong connector as a temporary solution. When I visit family who live about 70% charge away from my home, I plug into their NEMA 10-30 dryer socket with a cheapo 16 amp charging cable. Takes nearly all day and night to charge back up (about 19-20 hours), but it does the job.

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